Key Takeaways
- Martha Stewart says she improvised her Halloween costume as a homeless woman after Today host Craig Melvin accidentally spilled chocolate on her planned outfit, leaving her 10 minutes to change.
- Stewart said she never intended to offend anyone and apologized, but her original statement described the costume as an effort to “bring more awareness to the very serious subject of homelessness.”
- Her initial explanation never mentioned Melvin or a wardrobe emergency, and TMZ said Stewart had not responded to its request for clarification.
Martha Stewart has a new explanation for her controversial Halloween costume, and this time, she's pointing the finger at Today host Craig Melvin. Apparently, a little spilled chocolate started it all.
The 85-year-old lifestyle mogul addressed the backlash during the CrossCountry Mortgage Sales Rally in Orlando, where she said Melvin inadvertently set off the chain of events that led her to dress as a homeless woman for Halloween.
According to TMZ, Stewart said the trouble began during the Oct. 30 broadcast of Today, when Melvin, dressed as her longtime friend Snoop Dogg, accidentally spilled chocolate all over the sweater she intended to wear to a costume party the following night.
With her original outfit ruined and only 10 minutes to come up with something else, Stewart said she decided to dress as a "bum," using the term herself. She maintained the costume wasn't meant to offend anyone and said she apologized after the outfit drew criticism.
In her original statement to TMZ, Stewart suggested that her choice had a larger purpose beyond simply throwing together a last-minute Halloween outfit.
"I am distressed that my Halloween costume yesterday, which was intended to bring more awareness to the very serious subject of homelessness, has offended people, which was never my intention," she said.
That explanation made no mention of Melvin, a chocolate-covered sweater, or a wardrobe emergency.
TMZ reported that it reached out to Stewart for clarification but had not received a response.
Of course, Stewart is hardly a stranger to making headlines for her unfiltered comments. Earlier this year, she declared herself "a very good catch" while discussing her dating life, explaining that she knows "how to cook, how to clean, and how to keep a house."
Her commitment to looking presentable has generated its own headlines. During an appearance on Amazon Live's In Bed with Paige DeSorbo, Stewart revealed that she showers and applies makeup before heading to the gym at 6:30 a.m.
"I have to because there's men in the gym," she explained, adding that she doesn't want to "look awful."
